On The Verge of Death
by burtneymac95
Summary: My version of what all goes down in the frozen chamber scene in the episode "Countdown." Major spoilers. Castle and Beckett are slowly freezing to death. What will happen? Will they be rescued in time? No longer a one-shot!
1. Chapter 1

**_So let me just start out by saying, HOW AWESOME WAS SET-UP? I think it was amazing! But I'm even more excited for Countdown, and hate the fact that we have to wait a whole WEEK before we can see what actually happens!_**

**_And after watching the ABC promo and the CTV promo for Canada, I knew I had to write a story! So here it is, I took the words that were said in the promo's and added them in, how I hope they are said. So, enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything affiliated with these amazing show. _**

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"Beckett." Castle said, urging her to look at him towards the back of the chamber. He looked at the face of the frozen body, as he recognized the man. "It's Jamal."

Beckett's face froze with fear. Now she believed that Jamal and Amir were indeed not terrorists. They were set up. She slowly walked to the back of the chamber, joining Castle.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked.

She breathed, as steam came from her mouth. "I always did. We just…couldn't prove it."

"So I'm guessing whoever locked us in here, killed Jamal and Amir after they got what they needed from them."

Beckett nodded, the coldness really beginning to take its toll.

"How cold do you think it is?" he asked.

Beckett shrugged her shoulders. "I'm guessing 1 below freezing."

"We have to get out of here." Castle whispered, his lips quivering.

Beckett mentally agreed, and pulled out her gun as she began to shoot, as the bullets ricocheted off the walls.

"Oh! Kate! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said as he raised his arms, urging her to stop. "You're going to get one of us killed. Well we need to find some other way out of here! We have to get a hold of someone."

"Castle, nobody knows that we're in here." she said, disappointed.

Castle put his head down in defeat.

"So, we're going to freeze to death?" he asked.

In her mind, she answered yes, but she was too afraid to say it out loud. She walked towards the middle of the chamber and sat down. Castle noticed this and decided to sit down next to her. Neither one spoke, both of them too afraid. But Castle spoke up first.

"So, are you scared?" he asked.

Beckett just looked up at him, glaring. "Yes Castle, I am afraid. Afraid that if no one finds out that we're in here, we're going to die. Afraid that I wont be able to say goodbye to my father, and he'll have to deal with another death in his family. I'm afraid I won't be able to tell Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Montgomery, Josh, that…I said goodbye. I'm afraid….I'm just scared, okay?"

He nodded in agreement. "I understand. I won't be able to tell Alexis and my mom how much I love them. Alexis is going to have to grow up without a father, and pretty much a mother too. Though I know they will be well taken care of with the money I left them in my will, I just…I don't want them to have to go through this, you know?"

She nodded, not knowing what to say. She then felt something dripping from her face, sweat.

"Castle, this isn't good." she said, wiping it from her forehead.

"No…it's not." he answered, frightened for what it meant.

She stood up, frightened and began pacing around.

"This is bad Beckett, really bad." he said as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Castle, I really need a silver lining right about now."

He tried and tried to think of one, but couldn't come up with anything.

"I wish I had one." he said in defeat.

She began crying, something that Castle rarely saw the strong willed and independent detective do. He wrapped his arms around her, whispering that it was going to be okay.

"They'll find us. I promise, they will."

His body was so warm. She clung to him like bee on honey. Her whole body was beginning to freeze, and the warmth that Castle provided, was enough to give her body a little bit of heat, at least, until he started becoming as cold as her.

"Let's sit down, okay?" he offered, his legs feeling heavy and cold.

She nodded, but didn't let go of him as they maneuvered their selves to the ground while keeping a hold of each other. They sat in silence for what seemed like a long time, until Castle once again broke the silence.

"Kate, how long do you think we've been in here?"

"I don't know." she said, her voice becoming hoarse. "Maybe an hour? Not sure."

He nodded against her head. She was beginning to slip from his grip, as he pulled her closer, her head now resting on his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her protectively, as he tried not to look at her. Silence filled the room once again. Castle was now beginning to feel how Beckett felt. His body was becoming colder, his voice becoming raspy. He never felt like this before. In the face of death, he could only think of the Titanic.

"Jack and Rose." he said softly, his voice hoarse as well.

"What?" she whispered.

"We're like Jack and Rose from the Titanic." she slightly smiled, surprised that even when they were dying, he still thought about movies. She also ignored the fact that if they were Jack and Rose, they were head over heels in love with each other, which was something she didn't know was true.

"Can't feel anything." she spoke a little while later, her cracked voice getting worse.

He brought her closer, trying to give her whatever warmth he had left. He knew that she was dying, and dying fast. Every time she spoke, her voice was worse, he could no longer feel any warmth on her body, her hair was beginning to freeze, and her face, was so pale.

Her eyes were now closed, as she could feel herself slowly going under.

"Castle, I just wanted you to know how much I luhh…."

And as she said that, her arm fell, no longer holding onto his jacket.

"Kate, stay with me." he spoke softly.

"Kate." He shook her.

"Kate, please. Stay with me." he spoke, looking at her now.

She looked terrible. Ice was beginning to form on her hair, her eyelashes were slowly freezing, her face was pale, her lips were purple.

"Baby please, don't die on me." he said again, but he knew she couldn't hear him.

He let go of one of her hands, touching his lips with his fingers. His lips were the only thing that was still warm. His lips and his breath. He knew what he had to do. As much as he wished this was under different circumstances, he would take the second best situation. He slowly pulled her face to his, as he pressed his lips to hers, trying to radiate all of his heat to her through one simple kiss.

He pulled his mouth away from hers, but kept his face in hers. Her eyes began to twitch, as she started opening her eyes. When she did, the first thing she saw was Castle. She slightly smiled.

"Castle." she breathed, her voice still discordant.

But once again, her eyes closed, and Castle felt lonely as ever.

Little did he know that help was coming, but what if didn't come soon enough?

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**_Awww :( Isn't it sweet? I really hope this is actually how it plays out. I'm thinking this will be a one-shot, but if you want more, then by all means leave a review!_**

**_Oh, and if you want to see the parts that are actually going to be spoke, go watch the Canadian promo! It's wayyy better than ABC's. _**

**_Here's the link: .com/watch?v=Mz0xq7pNB6k&feature=player_embedded_**

**_Please Review! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Woww! I was absolutely BLOWN away by the response to the first chapter. Thank you guys all so very much! It made my day seeing all of those reviews! Okay, well I guess this is going to be a multi-chapter story, because I fell in love the plot line. But instead of sticking with how I think it's going to go, I'm going to go my own way with it and hope you guys like it! Please let me know! _**

**_Enjoy! :)_**

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2 hours, 120 mins, and 7200 seconds later, Castle still layed in the chamber with Beckett's unconscious and half frozen body lying next to him. How was he even still alive? Beckett had been out cold for at least a half an hour, and he knew she more than likely wasn't going to make it much longer. His body was slowly becoming colder and colder, as he no longer felt any heat inside. His eyes were slowly closing, as he was finally succumbing to an unconscious state, when he heard movement from the outside. He moved his head up with all of his might. Help? He wondered. No. No one knew they were in here.

Beckett was more than likely to freeze to death at any minute, and he was slowly going as well. All he could think about was how close he was to telling her that he wanted to be the person that she could be there for, and she could be there for him as well, but their moment was interrupted. And just a little bit ago, she was going to tell him something, but his brain couldn't quite process what it was. And now, they were going to die in each others arms, but without the other one knowing how they truly felt.

Castles eyes were closed as he heard banging once again. as much as his body was telling him to fall asleep, not get up, and sleep, he looked down at Becketts body and knew that she had to be saved. A good detective couldn't go like this, not without a fight.

"Is anyone there?" he yelled as loud as he could, wanting, hoping, needing someone to be able to hear his raspy voice.

No answer. Maybe it was just too good to be true. But what if he was voice was too low and no one could hear him? He tried again.

"Please? Someone? Anyone?" he yelled again, this time his voice a little stronger.

But once again, no answer. He sighed, steam coming out of his mouth as he rested his head against Becketts and fell asleep.

5 minutes earlier

"Captain, that's Becketts car!" Ryan told Montgomery.

"What are they doing here?" Esposito asked.

"Try her cell." The Captain ordered.

Esposito pulled out his phone, pressing #7 on his speed dial, as the phone rang.

"Hi, you've reached Detective Beckett. I…."

"Voicemail." he sighed, as he hung up.

"Try Castles."

Once again, Esposito pressed #8 on his speed dial, ringing into Castles phone.

"Hey, it's Rick Castle, you know the ruggedly handsome writer? Yup, that's me. Well as you can…."

Esposito hung up, sighing harder. "Neither of them are answering."

"Well that can't be good. Split up and search the premises. If anyone finds them, call."

"Will do Captain."

Ryan and Esposito split up from the rest of the group, going around the corner.

"Where you think they can be?" Ryan asked.

"No idea bro. Our luck, we're wasting all this time looking for them, while Fallon and the rest of the team is looking for the bomb."

Ryan shown his flashlight on a door.

"What's this?" Ryan asked, as Esposito looked at what Ryan was pointing to.

"I don't know, it looks like some kind of vault or something."

"Is anyone there?" they heard someone say from inside, barely.

"Did you hear that?" Ryan asked.

They looked at each other, neither believing they really heard it.

"Must've been the wind." Esposito concluded.

"We should try to open it. Maybe the bomb is in here." Ryan offered.

"Good possibility."

"Please? Someone? Anyone?" they heard someone ask again, and this time they knew it was for real.

"Someone's in there!" Esposito exclaimed.

They started unlocking the door, and as they opened, they got the shock of their life. Castle and Beckett were wrapped in each others arms, unconscious.

"Castle and Beckett!" Ryan yelled as they jumped inside the freezer.

Ryan bent down in front of Castle as Esposito knelt in front of Beckett. They saw the horrid features of their friends. Purple lips, icicle eyelashes, frozen hair, it was…unbelievable. They touched them, checking to see if they were still alive.

"Becketts got a pulse, barely." Esposito said.

"Yeah, same with Castle." Ryan agreed.

"We have to get them out of here."

Esposito pulled out his walkie-talkie as Montgomery got on the line.

"We found Castle and Beckett. They're in a freezer around the corner from where we came in. They're….barely alive sir. It's...it's bad. We need ambulances and quick."

He hung up the walkie-talkie.

"We need to move them out of here."

"I can carry Beckett, but Castle is another story."

"Get Beckett out of here then come back and help me move Castle." Ryan plotted.

Esposito bent down and gathered 110 pounds of unconscious Beckett into his arms.

"She's like a popcicle." he said, softly and sadly.

He ran out of the room as fast as he could with her, trying not to drop her. He layed her on the ground outside as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Meanwhile, as Ryan started to try to move Castle, Castle's eyes opened.

"Ryan?" Castle asked, voice raspy and low, eyes fluttering.

"It's me buddy. We're gonna get you out of here."

"Get...Beckett." he whispered.

"Esposito already got her out of here, ambulances our on their way."

"Did you…find... the bomb?" he could barely speak a full sentence.

"Not yet, Fallon and the rest of the team are working on it. But right now, our biggest priority is you and Beckett."

Seconds later, Esposito was back in, seeing Ryan and Castle talking.

"You're awake." he said as he walked over to them.

"Is Beckett okay?"

"Montgomery came over and got her. He's taking her to the ambulances."

"Good, good." he whispered.

"Right now, we won't mention the scene we saw walking in here. Let's just get you out of here Castle."

They helped him up as he leaned on them, walking out of the freezer. The Captain walked over to them urgently.

"Castle, are you okay?"

"Better than I was, but still freezing."

"Come on, let's get you over to the ambulance." He said as they guided him outside.

"What about the bomb?"

"Fallon's on it. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? There's a bomb out there somewhere, we…we have to worry."

"Fallon is one of the best. He'll find it. Becketts like a daughter to me. and you, well…you're a good friend. You two are more important to me right now."

Castle smiled, his body still aching and shivering. Esposito helped him into the back of the ambulance.

"Where's Beckett?" Castle asked.

"In the other ambulance on her way to the hospital."

"Is she…alive?"

"Yes, barely, but she is."

Castle nodded. "Let's go."

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**_Well? Want to along for the ride? Please let me know! & I also think that the first chapter was wayyy better, so if I don't get as many reviews, I might just leave it as a one-shot, but that's all up to YOU! Yes, I'm pointing to you, whoever is reading right now. _**

**_4 days till Countdown! :)_**

**_REVIEW!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Wow! Once again, I am blown away at how many reviews I'm getting! Thank you all soooo very much! I'm glad you all decided to go on this journey with me. Without further a due, here's chapter 3. Enjoy!_**

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Castle rode in the back of the ambulance, the heat blanket slowly warming up his frozen body. Esposito offered to ride in there with him, while Montgomery and Ryan drove themselves to the hospital. For a while, it was silent, but Esposito broke the silence.

"That was a pretty interesting scene in there. You and Beckett wrapped in each other's arms."

"We needed to keep each other warm. We were freezing, dying." Castle explained, trying to hide the fact that it was so much more than that.

Esposito nodded. "Cut the act. We know bro, we all do." At castles questioning look he continued. "You love her. It's obvious, has been for a while now."

Castle shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She doesn't feel the same. She has Josh."

"Oh come on bro! You can't tell that she feels the same? It's right in front of you. Think about it. Why would she let you come back twice? Why did she break up with Demming before you went to the Hamptons?"

Castle interrupted him. "She broke up with Demming… before the Hamptons?"

"Yeah...for you." Esposito said simply.

"For me? No she...she couldn't have. Why didn't she say anything?" Castle asked in disbelief.

"Because when she was about to tell you, your ex wife showed up."

"Damn it, I ruined everything, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Just a little. But promise me one thing, if she makes it through this, you better tell her how you feel. It's time."

"I...I promise. If she lives, I will spend every day of my life proving how much I love her."

"Good. Bout time you grew a set." he said, laughing.

Castle put his head down, thinking about something.

"What's wrong Castle?"

"Nothing it's just...now that I think about it, before she...went unconscious, she said that she wanted to tell me how much she, something, but then she fell asleep. What if she was going to tell me how she felt?"

"Good possibility bro. Just another reason for you to tell her how you feel."

"Thanks Esposito. Thank you for this talk."

"Were partners man, I'm always here to listen."

The back doors of the ambulance opened, as Castle and Esposito were helped out.

"Where is she?" Castle asked the EMT.

"She's in trauma room one. From what I heard, she has severe hypothermia. Her body temperature was 81.8 degrees. They're going to use the active core re-warming process to try and get her temperature to normal range."

"Active core re-warming? What, what's that?" he asked.

"It's a process that involves the use of intravenous warmed fluids, irrigation of body cavities with warmed fluids, use of warm humidified inhaled air, or use of extracorporeal re-warming."

Castle nodded, not understanding anything she said except the fact that they're going to try to warm her up. "Can she…survive?"

The woman took a deep breath. "Possibly. Most patients I have seen with severe hypothermia, have died. But there have been some that get really lucky and pull through."

"Good. She can do it, I know she can."

"Beckett's a fighter bro, she can do this." Esposito said as they thanked the EMT and walked into the emergency room.

Once they entered, they saw that Ryan and Montgomery had already arrived.

"She has severe hypothermia." Roy told them as they walked over.

"Yeah, we were just briefed on her condition." Esposito told the captain.

"Castle, how the hell are you not as bad as her?"

"I…I have no idea. She went unconscious before me. And I think that I was only out for a couple minutes before you guys came in." he said as he sat down, the blanket still wrapped around him.

"We're glad your okay though." Ryan reassured him.

The 4 men sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. That was until they heard a voice, a female voice, asking "Is she okay?"

The men looked up and saw Lanie, eyes puffy and a nervous wreck.

"Lanie? What are you doing here?" Castle asked.

"I called her." Esposito said, standing up and giving her a kiss.

That was the first time they showed public display of affection in front of their friends.

"Is someone going to answer me?" she asked.

"She has severe hypothermia. Temperature around 81.6. They're trying to re-warm her. Though it's…it's not looking good."

Lanie put her head down, tears filling her eyes. "I knew this was going to happen. I knew one day, something was going to happen to her. She's a cop. I always expected her to get shot or something. But, a damn freezer? No, I wasn't expecting this. At all."

"It's okay babe, it's okay." Esposito soothed.

"And you, Writer Boy, why didn't you give her your damn jacket or something? Why didn't you…why didn't you keep her safe?"

Castle was in shock. Lanie was blaming him for this?

"I..I don't know. We sat with each other, wrapped in each others arms, I…I tried keeping her warm as much as I could." he said, a tear filling his eye as well.

"Lane, don't blame Castle for this, he's too…beat up about it." Javier whispered in her ear.

She sat down beside Castle. "Right. I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm broken right now. She's my best friend, I can't lose her."

"I know." Castle said, putting his hand on her knee. "I know."

"You know, it's funny. We're all sitting here, worrying about her, but in less than 12 hours, we could be dead." Ryan said.

"Sorry bro, but I don't find the humor in that."

"I didn't mean it literally I just meant…." He got irritated looks from all of them. "Nevermind."

"Captain Montgomery?" a doctor asked, walking over to the group.

Montgomery stood up. "How is she?"

"Detective Beckett's condition is…better, to say the less. But her temperature is still well below normal, and we are trying our best to warm her up. We almost lost her once, when her heart stopped, but luckily we were able to revive her."

"Good." Montgomery nodded.

"We're going to have to put her on cardiopulmonary bypass, which will temporarily take over the function of the heart and lungs."

"How long can she last on that?" Castle asked, feeling left out.

"Usually up to 45 minutes. If she wakes up before that, then we can take her off."

"But if she doesn't?" he asked.

The doctor paused. "Let's just…worry about warming her up right now, okay?"

"Thank you doctor." Montgomery said, shaking hands with him.

"No problem. If we have any more news I will surely be out to let you know."

"Thank you." he said as the doctor walked away and him and Castle sat down once again.

"So uh, what do we do now?" Ryan asked.

"We wait."

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**_I just want to say this now, I'm sorry if I don't get all the medical terms right! I'm 16, young, and uneducated about all the medical terminology and techniques. So if I mess anything up, please let me know! Thanks!_**

**_Oh, and if you would be so kind, could you please a review? It would make my day! Thanks ;)_**

**_2 days till Countdown! :)_**


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